Recipes
Drinks from the old books, with and without alcohol. Each one names its source and scales to the size of your party.
Drinks from the old books.
Or start from what you have at home133–144 of 228 recipes
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Always alcohol-freeGoldenade, Lemon and Egg Yolk Soda
An egg yolk shaken with powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice and ice, then filled with soda and poured back and forth: the alcohol-free Goldenade of an 1897 soda fountain manual.
Always alcohol-freeGunpowder Green Tea, Mrs. Beeton’s Way
A teaspoon of rolled gunpowder tea for each person and one for the pot, boiling water, five minutes under the lid, then filled up: green tea as Mrs. Beeton made it in 1861.
Always alcohol-freeHorse’s Neck, Ginger Ale and a Spiral of Lemon Peel
A whole lemon peel in one long spiral, ice and a bottle of ginger ale: the Horse’s Neck as an alcohol-free drink, the way an 1895 home-drinks column and a 1901 bar book made it.
Always alcohol-freeLemonade in a Minute, Kitchiner’s Instant Lemon Syrup
Citric acid dissolved in sugar syrup with lemon zest, bottled, and stirred into cold water two tablespoons to the pint: William Kitchiner’s instant lemonade of 1817.
Always alcohol-freeLemonade Powders, the Trail Lemonade of 1862
Sugar, citric acid and a few drops of lemon oil, mixed dry and kept in a jar, then stirred into cold water by the teaspoon: Jerry Thomas’s lemonade powders of 1862.
Always alcohol-freeLime Rickey, the Soda Fountain Rickey Without Gin
A whole lime squeezed over pineapple syrup, then cracked ice and a fill of soda water: the alcohol-free lime rickey from a San Francisco druggists’ journal of 1912.
Always alcohol-freeMaple Switchel with Ginger and Cider Vinegar
Switchel sweetened with maple syrup in place of molasses, with cider vinegar and ginger: a modern combination of two period versions of the haymakers’ drink.
Martinez, Old Tom Gin and Vermouth Cocktail
A pony of Old Tom gin, a wine-glass of vermouth, maraschino and bitters, shaken and served with a quarter slice of lemon: the first full Martinez, printed in 1887.
Milk Punch, Brandy and Rum Shaken with Milk
A wine-glass of Cognac and half as much St. Croix rum, shaken with sugar, shaved ice and milk to fill the glass, topped with nutmeg: Jerry Thomas’s Milk Punch of 1862, eggnog without the egg.
Always alcohol-freeMint Lemonade, the Soda Fountain Way
A peeled lemon pounded in the glass with sugar and fresh mint, shaken with ice and water and strained over a new sprig: one glass of mint lemonade from a 1910 soda-fountain formula.
Always alcohol-freeMrs. Beeton’s Café au Lait with Essence of Coffee
Fresh-ground coffee and a small spoonful of chicory, dripped, warmed and dripped again into a strong essence, then stirred into hot milk: Mrs. Beeton’s café au lait of 1861.
Mrs. Beeton’s Hot Punch, Rum and Brandy with Lemon
Equal parts rum and brandy, sugar rubbed on a lemon, nutmeg and a pint of boiling water, mixed in a punchbowl: the hot punch of Mrs. Beeton’s 1861 book.
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Absinthe Frappé, Shaken until the Shaker Frosts
A pony of absinthe and a pony of water with a dash of anisette, shaken with fine ice until the shaker frosts, strained and topped with seltzer: the absinthe frappé of 1895.
Absinthium Romanum, Roman Wormwood Wine
Apicius’s Roman vermouth: mild white wine steeped for a day with wormwood, mastic, bay and saffron, unsweetened and bitter by design.
Always alcohol-freeAdynamon, Pliny’s Wine Without Strength
White grape must boiled with half its volume of water until the water is gone: the Roman ‘wine’ given to people who were not allowed wine. Alcohol-free.